Kingdom Hearts: Echoplex II

EP2 - Season 3 (To Keep Breathing)

Ephemer: This... is all too sudden, don't you think? One minute we're attacked by that... thing, which wasn't even a Heartless, and the next, this Rengoku shows up out of nowhere, talking about demons and breathing techniques and sending us off to find some teachers we've never even heard of.

Asukazen, still reeling from the encounter with the creature and Rengoku's overwhelming presence, shook his head, trying to clear the lingering confusion. Rengoku's constant shouting, his unwavering enthusiasm, was starting to give him a headache.

Blizzard nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on Rengoku, who was now examining his katana with an almost reverent air.

Blizzard: I know. It's too much, too fast. We're supposed to be focusing on the Keyhole, on our mission. This feels like a distraction, a detour we don't have time for. What do you think we should do?

Within seconds, Asukazen shook his head with apathy and irritation.

Asukazen: No... No. It's better if we go our separate ways. We'll fare on our own. And besides... We can handle ourselves. We'll meet up again once we've finished meeting these... teachers. (his gaze shifted to Blizzard as he finished with bitterness) We'd just get in each other's way if we stayed together. I can't stand your whining any longer.

Blizzard glared back at Asukazen. The fury within him surged, hot and suffocating, threatening to consume him entirely.

Blizzard: Fine by me! It's best that we move independently, anyway!

His mind seethed with a venomous frustration. That stubborn, selfish fool still clung to his misguided sense of existence, blind to his own culpability in the events that had transpired. Blizzard craved an end to it all, a release from the gnawing torment that haunted him.

And yet, Asukazen's relentless pursuit of retribution, only succeeded in stirring the ashes of their shared past, reawakening the pain that Blizzard desperately tried to bury. The irritation and resentment that had simmered within him for so long now threatened to boil over, consuming him in its fiery depths.

Blizzard: (In his mind) He's insufferable. I can't believe he still hasn't come to terms with it... with what he did... with what we did. I should have killed him back then... taken my revenge. But... Yen Sid... Chirithy... Josiah... Their sacrifices... their existences... They would had meant nothing. I can't dishonor their memory. I just want to move on... try to have a normal life. But Asukazen... He doesn't understand...! Life isn't all about revenge... He's the selfish one... not me...

Sensing the volatile tension crackling between the two, Rengoku forced a boisterous laugh, his booming voice momentarily shattering the suffocating silence.

Rengoku: HAHAHA! LET'S NOT GET SO WORKED UP! I SUPPOSE YOU BOTH HAVE YOUR REASONS FOR BEING AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS! BUT COME NOW, IS THIS REALLY ANY WAY TO TREAT EACH OTHER?!

Rengoku rummaged through his uniform, producing three small pouches. He extended them towards Asukazen, Blizzard, and Ephemer.

Rengoku: HERE! TAKE THIS. IT'S A LITTLE SOMETHING TO HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY! YOU SEEM TO BE FOREIGNERS IN THIS LAND! JUDGING BY YOUR ATTIRE!

Asukazen accepted the pouch, his fingers absently toying with the unfamiliar coins within. He recognized them from his own reality—yen, the currency used in Japan. But before he could voice his observation, Blizzard interjected with a clipped tone.

Blizzard: We're from far away. Not from this... country. Thank you for your generosity.

Rengoku's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of suspicion momentarily darkening his gaze as he studied the three figures before him. He found himself particularly drawn to Blizzard, who seemed to carry an air of world-weariness.